After naming Joe Flacco their Week 1 starting quarterback, the Cleveland Browns still needed to address their plan for their other three QBs — Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders.
Many expected the team to carry all four into the regular season, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported as much last week.
But on Monday the team made a move that cleared things up a little bit, trading Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for the 2026 fifth-round pick.
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The deal recoups the fifth-rounder the Browns sent the Philadelphia Eagles in March to initially acquire Pickett, and it opened the door for either Gabriel or Sanders to ee more practice reps working with Cleveland’s second-team offense.
And while it seems both rookie QBs now have an opportunity to take on a bigger role on offense, one Browns insider believes it actually paves the way for the team to add another signal-caller to the mix.
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“Browns trade Kenny Pickett to LV Raiders,” ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi wrote. “I would not be surprised if they bring back Tyler Huntley to be QB3. Which is what I proposed in my TLOD column this morning.”
Huntley was signed by the Browns earlier this month when Pickett sat out most of training camp with a hamstring injury but was released just days ago. He would be the only passer on the Browns’ roster with a Pro Bowl on his resume.
Grossi’s prediction would also seem to signal bad news for Sanders, who is currently No. 3 on Cleveland’s roster. If Huntley were signed to be the third-stringer, it likely means Sanders could either be traded or cut.
Gabriel has long seemed like the Browns’ preferred backup, as evidenced by his logging more playing time in the preseason. In two games, he threw for 272 yard, a touchdowns and two interceptions, while Sanders threw for 152 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions in two appearances.
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